SUNDAY SCHOOL - A TIME FOR RETOOLING All across the church world we are hearing the moans and cries about the great falling away. Months ago we also heard the cries of the falling away of Chrysler Corporation. It was destined to fade into the halls of fame of other great manufacturers. But they didnt give up! They retooled their presses and got on with the business of producing. It seems that we, as a church, need to retool also. No, our message does not need retooled, for we have a perfect message; a message brought to us only by the sacrifice of God the Son. Nor do our standards need retooled. God has always admired and respected purity and it remains one of His most cherished loves. To the misfortune of millions, whenever nominal churches seek for ways to change, they invariably turn to these areas, messages and standards, and begin tinkering. But tampering leads to hampering and defeat. The wise Christian turns to two other sources of hurt, methods and ministry. To be sure, there are Biblical methods and Biblical ministry, both of which are far too foreign to the average church. But there are also man-made methods and ministry, which too often lead to hindering instead of helping the mission of the church. Much could be said about methods, but instead, lets take a brief look at ministry. Todays Pentecostal believer would probably define ministry as something the pastor does. Unfortunately, this is a remnant of Catholicism that finds little root in the Bible. On the other hand, Pentecostals have been an example to the whole church world in our worship. In many denominations, the pastor or priest leads all worshipful experience while in Pentecostal churches we have always had a great deal of participation by every spiritual believer. We can be proud of this kind of quality in our services for are we not a holy priesthood? Shouldnt we expand the ministry? Let me be quick to protect the sanctity of the calling of pastor and evangelist. Too often we have seen the undermining of these gifts. But, isnt it undermining the gift when we force the pastor to neglect his preparation for ministry when we demand by our own inaction that he cut the grass, paint the church, be the janitor, do all the visitation, etc.? Its time for retooling! Why arent our churches growing? Why arent people being saved? On and on the questions come, but the answer remains the same. Elton Trueblood has said, So far as the Christian faith is concerned the practical handle in our time is lay religion. If in the average church we should suddenly take seriously the notion that every lay member, man or woman, is really a minister of Christ, we would have something like a revolution in a very short time; it would constitute both the big dose and the required novelty. Suddenly the number of ministers in the average church would jump from one to five hundred. This is the way to employ valuable but largely wasted human resources. Jesus own ministry is our greatest object lesson. He did worship in the temple, but chiefly He ministered where the people were: by the sea with fishermen, at Jacobs Well in Samaria. He was always going places: to peoples homes, to the marketplace. His favorite method was beginning a conversation with a question or a miracle. Jesus was to be found where the working man made his living. Your pastor may not be able to be found but you can! The priesthood of believers is the greatest single hope for fulfilling Gods mission. We cannot convert the world if we flee into our churches. Into the world is the demand—not to your preacher, but to you! Empowered to witness (Acts 1:8) is our equipment, not just the pastors. The key to success in your church is not in changing pastors, but in changing members—members to ministers. May God grant that change in you! The Bridegrooms Messenger, September, 1982 - CMH
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 12:37:18 +0000
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